13-1212.

Department; rules and regulations; duties; public-purpose organization; denied financial assistance; petition; hearing.

(1) The department shall administer sections 13-1209 to 13-1212, and shall adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act as are necessary, including but not limited to defining eligible capital acquisition and operating costs, establishing contractual and other requirements including standardized accounting and reporting requirements, which shall include the applicant's proposed service area, the type of service proposed, all routes and schedules, and any further information needed for recipients to ensure the maximum feasible coordination and use of state funds, establishing application procedures, and developing a policy for apportioning funds made available for this program should they be insufficient to cover all eligible projects. Priority on the allocation of all funds shall be given to those proposed projects best suited to serve the needs of the elderly and handicapped and to proposed projects with federal funding participation.

(2) Any public-purpose organization proposing to provide public transportation denied financial assistance as a result of a determination by the department that an area is adequately served by existing transportation services may submit a petition to the department requesting the department to reclassify the proposed service area as not being adequately served by existing public transportation services. The petition submitted to the department by the public-purpose organization shall bear the signatures of at least fifty registered voters residing in the proposed service area. Upon receipt of the petition the department shall hold a public hearing in the proposed service area and after such hearing shall determine whether the proposed service area is already adequately served. In carrying out its duties under this section the department shall comply with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The department shall not be required to conduct a reevaluation hearing for an area more frequently than once a year.